Ankle supporter



Feb. 7, 1928;

J. BROMLEY ANKLE- SUPPOR'IER Filed April 7. 1925 gave to: 6/2/ 1,

Patented Feb. 7, 1928.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

BRU M'LEY, OF CLOSTER, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGHOR TO A; 'G. SIALDING &"BROS., 'OF

NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION oi? new TERSEY.

ANKLE SUPPORTER- npp lication'fi led April 7, "Serial hie.

Thi inreiition relates to devices for protecti g the ankle person "or the foot,'ai1'd is especially assigned for use in athletic d m w V 6 "hfi dhjec't of'the invention. is to pr vin a simpleand'im'riored device of the char acter whieh? wn hoh hi' effec'tively'proteot theankle, butwhieh 'wnr'opemw to brace and strengthen the same Which will 10 be inexpensive "and'eas'y to manufacture,

and particularl "stron and durable."

'A 'speeiaro est 0'? the invention is to provide a brace and prb'tector'o'f which the 7 body is cut from a single iece of leather or thelike material in Such ashion that it is continuous as to the parts which surround the ankle, and so that integral extensions are provided dependin from each side of the body and haringt eir edges united to constitute the stirrup portion which lies underthe foot in use. In this coni ection, one of the features-0f the i iiventiouis that the edges of thestirrup parts are united by I a cross stitch so that there will be no unevenness tocause discomfort to the wearer. This "cross-stitch may also be utilized to hold in position a strengthening web, whose ends are fastened to the inner surface of the body, and through whose median portion the Stitch is passed in the manufacture of the protector.

.A further object is to provide for the maximum bracing effect, while ayoidin objectionable binding of the ankle bone, and

chafing of the ankle by the upper edges of the support. These ends are accomplished by securing on the interior surfaces of the two sides of the support sheets of leather or other material softer than the material of 40 the main body of the support, and cutting apertures in the main body portions Where the latter would come in contact with the ankle bone.

Furthermore, the upper edges of the reinforcing pieces are appreciably distant from the upper edges of the main body of the support, so that there is greater yield to the flexing of the foot and less liability of chafing. Preferably, the upper ends of the s irrup reinforee Web ar held under (the lqwer passenger the reinforcing pieces, by the stitching whieh 'ihol'ds the latter in poiiop...

3. ill "ahqtherioh eet is to provide for "the attachment: the tongue which Closes the laced from; of the 'S'uppdrt i'n's'ueh a WHY that "there will be no undesirable"buneh'ifi or extra thickness of material to cause d'is Cbfifii't to the wearer;

Ahother feature of the invention "is in the fact that the back off the'support, the ath thatover'laps the Achilles 'ten'dom'is a single thickness of 'rnat'eriahwhiehWill iea'di'ljcofi} term itself to that aft of afhefoot', and which may be horcheti at taper bottoin' ed e or 'bqthso that the 'Iill from the lacingis distributed and ehali ng' of the tendon "prevented. Other objects and aims of the invention, more or less bread thanthosestated above; togethe 'with the advantages inherent, iii be in part obvious and in part's'peei'fiealb referred to in the ehur'se' of the following description of the elements, combinations, arrangements of parts, and applications of rinciples eonstitutin'g the invention; and the scope of protection cbnteinpl'a'ted will appear from the claims. In the ac coinpan'y in g drawings, which are to be taken as part of this specification, in 'Whi'ch'I have shoivn meieiy a retense form of embodiment of invention, 'Fig. l is'an eleta'tion of an ankle support embodying the invention;

Fig. 2 is a section taken on the line .2-2 of Fig. 1; i i

Fig. 3 is a section taken on the line 33 of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 4 shows the article laid out flat, revealing the inner surfaces thereof, as it appears before the stirrup ends are united. For the purposes of this figure the stirrup reinforcing Web, which is actually one piece,

shown in two pieces.

Referring to the numerals on the draw ings, there is shown at 5 a piece or sheet of leather or other suitable material shaped about as shown in Fig. 4, that is with a main portion of sufficient extent to substantially other material and suitably shaped. These pieces 9 extend at their upper edges appreciably short of the upper edge of the main body of the support (see Fig. 4, in which the upper edgeof the reinforce piece is indicated at 10 and the upper edge of themain body at 11). 'Thejp'urpose of'thisfarrangement is so that the upper edge "of the support Will be as flexible" as "possible, in order to reduce chafingQ The reinforeepieces are held in'position by means of stitehingfand the stitching 12 which holds their lower edges to the bod portion is utilized to hold also the ends 0 a stirrup reinforcing web 13 formed of fabric, the" median portion of this web being tight to the median portion of the stirrup by means of the cross stitch 8.

Preferably the reinforcing pieces 9 are spaced apart on the body so that the median part of the main body, that is'the part which in use will lie along the Achilles tendon, is without any reinforcing, which means that this part ofthe support will be desirably flexible, does not need to be pre-shaped, but will be self-conforming in use. This back portion of the support indicated by the numeral 14 ma be notched at top and bottom so that the pull from the lacing will be distributed and the self-conforming characteristics of the article enhanced.

In order to provide for the reinforcing function of the pieces 9, while avoiding objectionable pressure'of the device on the ankle bone at each side of the foot, I prefer to cut apertures in the main body portions coinciding with those areas of the reinforce members 9 which would come in contact with the ankle bone. The result is that an area l5 of the reinforce piece will be visible from the outside of the support, and the ankle bone will have against it the pressure of only one thickness of material, that is the reinforce piece. This may be of somewhat. s'ofter material than the main body, and it may be dished in the manufacture of the article, though it will inevitably be pressed out in any event as the device is worn. At the same time it is obvious that the ankle is well braced by substantial support which is relieved only at those points where relief is desirable.

tongue is attached to the interior surface of one of the side portions of the body as by means of a short line of stitching l8 and extends beyond the top and bottom edges of the side piece which carries it. In use, it-

will lie flat against the instep and there will be no such unevenness as might be found if, for instance, the inner edge of the tongue wereheld between the main body and the reinforced piece 9.

- It is believed that the utility and advantages of the construction above set forth wi 1 be apparent inasmuch as they have been severally referred'to in connection with the descriptionof parts and relations.

Inasmuch as many changes could be made in the above construction, and many apparently widely different embodiments of my invention could be made without departing from the scope thereof, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawingsshall be interpreted as illustrative and not in'a limitingsen'se.

It is also to be'understood that the language used in the following claims is intended to cover all the generic and'specific features of the invention herein described and all statements of the scope of the invention which, as a matter of language, might be said to fall therebetween.

I claim 1. An ankle supporter comprising a onepiece leather body having side portions adapted to overlie the sides of the ankle, a back portion adapted to lie along the Achilles tendon, depending integral stirrup sections of substantially equal length having their lower ends united, spaced reinforcing pieces of leather on the interior surfaces of the side portions of the body, the rear edges of the reinforcing pieces being spaced apart at the back portion of the supporter, a separate reinforcing web of fabric extending along the inside of the stirrup, the ends of the web being held between the reinforcing pieces and the body, the lateral sides of the web being free from the stirrup to permit circulation of air between the web and the stirrup.

2. An ankle supporter comprising a onepiece leather body having side portions adapted to overlie the sides of the ankle, the side portions being apertured at points corresponding to the position of the ankle bone when the device is being worn, a back portion adapted to lie along the Achilles tendon, depending integral stirrup sections of substantially equal length having their lower ends united, reinforcing pieces of leather on the interior surfaces of the'side ilk) portions of the body, and extending across pieces and the body, the lateral sides of the the apertures of the body, the rear edges of web being free from the stirrup to permit the reinforcing pieces being spaced apart circulation of air between the web and the 10 at the back portion of the supporter, a sepastirrup.

5 rate reinforcing web of fabric extending In testimony whereof I aflix my signature.

along the inside of the stirrup, the ends of the web being held between the reinforcing JOHN BROMLEY. 

